Judge backs mayor in dispute

Oak Brook chief's pay is reinstated

The clash between Oak Brook trustees and Village President Kevin Quinlan over the appointment of an acting police chief has moved to the courtroom, with Quinlan winning Round 1 on Tuesday.

A DuPage County judge ruled that Quinlan had the right to appoint John Carpino as acting police chief July 1, five weeks after Allen Pisarek's last day on the job.

Five village trustees who had alleged Quinlan made the appointment without consulting them and then "undermined" the selection process by declaring Carpino a leading candidate for the permanent job later voted to rescind the appointment. The village attorney said they did not have the power to do that, and Carpino kept coming to work even though the trustees subsequently voted to suspend his pay.

Quinlan and Village Clerk Linda Gonnella filed a lawsuit Monday seeking a temporary restraining order that would reinstate Carpino's pay, would prevent an attorney retained by trustees from being paid with village funds and would prevent that attorney from being appointed as special village counsel without Quinlan's consent.

Judge Bonnie Wheaton granted the order on all of those issues and tentatively scheduled a hearing in the case for early September.

Carpino was not paid last Thursday, but with the judge's ruling, his salary, prorated at $90,000 annually, will resume. Phil Luetkehans, the attorney representing Quinlan and Gonnella, said he did not know if Carpino would receive a paycheck for the previous two weeks, however.

Michael Jurusik, the attorney hired by trustees, said the judge made the decision "without the benefit of entertaining any written comments from the other side."

At Tuesday night's board meeting, Jurusik had hoped to meet with the board in closed session, as he had done at a closed session earlier this month, but Wheaton's ruling nixed that access. Last week, Jurusik sent the village a letter of engagement stating a majority of trustees asked that he and his firm be appointed as special counsel.

Jurusik said he was looking forward to "when the facts come out and the defendants are able to present their facts." He called the speed of Wheaton's decision "very unusual, because there was no emergency in this case."

But Quinlan continues to maintain that the trustees' efforts to oust Carpino pose a threat to the community's safety, especially in light of the departure of three of the village's top four police administrators. He said he filed the suit because the board has been "too divided for too long" and he hopes court action "will allow the board to stop the unnecessary differences we've brought upon the village."

Trustee Stelios Aktipis said moving the fight to the courts "will do nothing but enrich the attorneys." Trustees have provided Quinlan with the names of four candidates whom they would support as police chief. Carpino is not on the list.

"Instead of taking that action and resolving the matter, he has chosen to go to court to continue using the acting chief as his choice," said Aktipis.

Quinlan responded that it's his role to recommend a candidate to the board, "not the other way around."

At Tuesday's board meeting, attended by more than 125 residents, people on both sides of the issue chastised Quinlan and trustees for embarrassing the community and urged them to resolve it.

The exodus of Pisarek as police chief in late May--earlier than originally expected by village officials--set the stage for the wrangling between Quinlan and trustees.

In the suit, Quinlan referred to a May 27 audiotaped message Pisarek left for Village Manager Rick Boehm in which Pisarek stated he was taking two personal days off and would be coming by Village Hall to turn in work-related items.

"When the attorney reaches an agreement, give me a call next week and I will sign them," Pisarek said, referring to his separation package.

In a ruling that is at the heart of the dispute, Wheaton stated "for the purposes of the temporary restraining order only that Allen Pisarek abandoned the office of Oak Brook chief of police."

In doing so, Pisarek paved the way for Quinlan to legally make a temporary appointment without the consent of board members, the judge said. Trustees have argued that Pisarek did not abandon his post but was forced by Quinlan to resign.

Pisarek declined to comment Tuesday, citing a confidentiality agreement he signed upon his departure.

Luetkehans said, "The only issue that I think is still open for debate ... is whether Pisarek abandoned his work." Referring to Pisarek's message, Luetkehans said, "I don't know how much more abandoning you can do."

Gonnella's joining Quinlan in the suit is the village clerk's first public stance on the issue.